Four years after Greyhound abruptly left Canada, a German company is banking on Canadian travellers still having plenty of appetite for the good old-fashioned bus.
Flixbus, established in Munich in 2013, offers low-cost bus service in a distinctive, bright green package. The company, which operates in more than 40 countries, started offering intercity bus trips throughout Europe and entered the North American market with routes on the west coast of the U.S. in 2018.
The company scooped up the Greyhound brand shortly after it left Canada in 2021. It started offering cross-border trips between the U.S. and Canada, followed by domestic service in Canada in 2022. It’s doubled its Canadian mileage in this country every year since, it said.
“We’re going to make Flix travel top of mind for anyone planning a long journey in Canada,” said Dallas-based Kai Boysan, CEO of Flix North America.
The company currently operates in Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan and it hopes to soon add interprovincial transit to Manitoba.
It’s not the only company that sees a future for intercity bus travel. It has competition in Western Canada from longer-standing rivals like Ebus and Rider Express, both of which say they, too, are keeping their eyes open for expansion opportunities.
Still, one transportation expert says there are limits to the type of network that can be created by the private sector. While businesses may be happy to offer service between large population centres, many rural and remote communities are still disconnected.
“You’ll need government support when it comes to looking at some of those further out places,” said Toronto-based David Cooper, principal at Leading Mobility consulting.
Flixbus, for its part, said it’s open to working with different levels of government to provide service in smaller communities where it wouldn’t otherwise be commercially viable.
Uber for buses
Part of what makes Flixbus unique is that it describes itself as a sort of Uber for buses. The company provides the technology to forecast demand, set schedules and pricing — but keeps its overhead costs low by relying on local partners to hire the drivers and maintain the fleet.
Boysan, the CEO, pitches Flixbus as an alternative to short-haul flights that’s more convenient and less subject to delays. He also wants to integrate the bus into travellers’ plane and train journeys, by offering stops at Via Rail stations and airports, to position it as an alternative to a rental car for the last leg of a journey.
One of these latest routes is a trip between the Calgary International Airport and Banff. While Boysan said the company targets customers from all walks of life, most passengers on this trip were backpackers in their early twenties who’d chosen the bus for one reason only.
“We’re kind of like broke college students, so we just got the cheapest thing we could,” Leo Fritsch, 18, said, adding his tickets cost about $25.
More remote options needed
Cooper, the transportation consultant, said Canada is still fairly limited in what intercity bus and train options are available. He thinks it’s a positive sign to see any companies adding new routes.
But in order to serve more communities, he believes it’s worth it for governments to allocate more funding to regional transportation in rural and remote areas, pointing to programs like BC Bus North.
As for Flixbus, the company soon hopes to start offering domestic service in B.C. and Quebec, and from there, to connect the entire country east-west.
“Our vision is to be able to serve the entire Canada,” Boysan said.
